Cryosauna

ABSTRACT

A cryosauna for recreational procedures comprises a source of liquid nitrogen, a unit to prepare an operating mixture, and a patient box. The unit has thermo insulated evaporator and mixer in fluid communication with each other. The evaporator is connected via a valve to the source of liquid nitrogen, the mixer through a fan is open to ambient air and connected with the patient box. The patient box is made roofless and comprises a floor, walls, and an adjustable stage to accommodate the patient. The cryosauna also comprises a recycle stream bypass channel connecting the patient box and evaporator and is provided with a three-way discharge valve, a first and a second discharge ducts connecting the patient box with inputs of the discharge valve and a duct fan installed at an output of the discharge valve. 
     A method of operating the cryosauna during a session is also disclosed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to saunas, more particularly to personalsaunas, and even more particularly to cryosaunas for recreationalpurposes, and can be used in fitness and physical therapy centers, spas,gymnasiums, resorts, beauty salons, etc.

2. Description of Related Art

Usually, exposing the body to low temperatures triggers stress responsein the organism that actively regulates metabolic processes, improvesblood circulation. Cooling is also known to promote bettermicrocirculation, alleviation of pain, edema after skin surgeryinterventions, etc. Cryosauna is an apparatus where a person is exposedto the impact of deep cold, such as provided by vapors of liquidnitrogen or liquid air, within a predetermined, and limited, period oftime, for example, one—two minutes. Cryosaunas known in the art aredesigned for hypothermic stimulation and thermoregulatory systemtraining, as well as for promoting healing after cosmetic surgery.

Known from European application EP0246179A2 published on Nov. 19, 1987,is a cooling room for use as a sauna, with side walls, a ceiling, and afloor, an access to the cooling room, and a cooling unit for coolingpurposes acting as a snow gun and comprising a compressor, refrigeratorunit, and a pre-cooler. The cooling room is connected with the coolingunit by a tube. The operating temperature in the cooling room, accordingto the publication, is about −2÷−10° C.

In the Russian utility model RU48473U1 published on Oct. 27, 2005, anapparatus for cryo therapy is disclosed comprising a patient box with athermo insulating case and a heat exchange unit supplying liquidnitrogen as a coolant. A coolant supply channel is located at the upperpart of the box; the heat exchange unit is located inside the box andspread over the height of the box, the walls of the heat exchange unitbeing painted in black. To prevent the patient from touching the walls,the walls are covered with perforated panels.

Cryosaunas also known in the art (see, for example, Cryohome® of CryoTecLLC, Moscow, Russia at http://www.criohome.com/index_eng.php?Lang=engpublished, per Internet archive (http://www.archive.org/), since Aprilof 2008) comprise a procedure room, called cryochamber, connected to acold machine.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Devices known in the art need long time to achieve the operating modeand consume much of expendable materials—liquid nitrogen or liquid air.It is an object of the present invention to propose a new cryosauna thatwould overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and would allowsconducting cryogenic sessions in a more economic and efficient way, safefor the patient and servicing personnel.

A cryosauna for recreational procedures according to the presentinvention comprises a cooling agent source, a gas generator, and apatient box. The gas generator contains an evaporator and a mixer, whichare in fluid communication with each other and thermo insulated. Theevaporator is connected to the cooling agent source, whereas the mixermade of non-corrodible material is in fluid communication with ambientair and with the patient box. An operating mixture of the cooling agentand air prepared in this structure with the assistance of a fan issupplied to the patient box.

The connection between the evaporator and the cooling agent source canbe made controllable via a valve to allow for dosing the supply of thecooling agent to the evaporator. The cooling agent is preferably liquidnitrogen though liquid CO₂ or liquid air can also be used. The patientbox is made roofless and comprises a floor, walls, and an adjustablestage to accommodate the patient. There can be provided a recycle streambypass channel connecting the patient box and evaporator to allow forreusing the operating mixture. The cryosauna can be provided with adischarge valve connected via a discharge duct with the patient box.Also provided can be a second discharge duct connecting the patient boxwith another input of the discharge valve. A duct fan can facilitatedischarging the operating mixture via those ducts into atmosphere afterthe procedure is over.

In accordance with the present invention, a method of operating acryosauna during a session comprises providing a source of a coolingagent, directing the cooling agent to an evaporator, evaporating thecooling agent in the evaporator, mixing the evaporated cooling agentwith air, and directing the mixture of the evaporated cooling agent andair into a patient box of the cryosauna. Also performed can be drawingan excessive mixture of the evaporated cooling agent and air out of thepatient box and directing it back to the evaporator for reuse, anddrawing the mixture of the evaporated cooling agent and air out of thepatient box after the session is over and removing the mixture from thecryosauna.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above objects and advantages of the present invention will becomemore readily apparent from the following detailed description taken withthe following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a sauna in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a gas preparing unit of the sauna inaccordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a sauna 10 according to the presentinvention comprises primarily a patient box 12, a gas preparing unit 14with a gas generator 16, and a space 18 for storing a cooling agent. Thestorage space 18 receives a cooling agent source including a reservoir20 holding the cooling agent (coolant), in which capacity liquidnitrogen, liquid carbon dioxide (CO₂), liquid air, or any otherappropriate coolant can be used. Liquid nitrogen is believed to bepreferable for the purposes of this invention. Through a supply channel22, the cooling agent is controllably delivered to the gas generator 16.A valve 24 regulates the supply of the cooling agent from the reservoir20 to the gas generator 16.

The gas generator 16 comprises a case 26, in which an evaporator 28 anda mixer 30 are located, the latter being made of a non-corrodiblematerial, preferably of stainless steel, and placed over the evaporator28. The evaporator 28 and mixer 30, in fluid communication with eachother, are separated from the case 26 of the gas generator 16 by athermal insulator 32 made of a water repellant material, for example,plastic foam. A fan 34 directs vapors of the cooling agent from theevaporator 28 to the mixer 30, where they are mixed with air. The vaporsand the mixture thereof with air being taken from outside use air ducts36 and 38 that pass inside the evaporator 28 and mixer 30. Through avapor supply channel 40, a mixture 42 of the coolant with air enters thepatient box 12.

The box 12 is made roofless and is defined in FIG. 1 by a floor 44 andwalls 46. The box comprises a door (not shown), and has a stage 48lifted above the floor 44 to allow for better vapor circulation. Thestage 48 is made movable by a drive 50 (the possibility shownsymbolically by arrows 52). The door is not locked during procedures(sessions), and the stage 48 can be adjusted by the drive 50 to keep thepatient's head outside and over the edge 54 of the box 12 at all times.The box 12 is preferably being cooled prior to a session. It takes abouttwo minutes to bring the temperature inside the box down to minus100-110° C. (minus 148-166° F.). Then the patient 56 comes in to standon the stage 48 during the procedure. It is recommended that the patientwear protective clothing—cotton socks and a bathing suit to remaincomfortable in the course of the procedure. During the first 15 sec ofthe session, the box is cooled to −150° C. (−238° F.). It is alsoadvisable that the first procedure for a patient last no more than 60sec, the subsequent ones being by about 60 sec longer. The valve 24regulates the supply of the coolant from the reservoir 20 to the gasgenerator 16. It doses the supply time, preferably 2 to 9 seconds, andthe pauses between the supplies; and thus regulates parameters of theprocess. The pulse supply of the coolant contributes to keeping theoperating temperature constant while saving the coolant. A control unit58, which in its preferred form includes processor (microcontroller)ATMEGA32-16AU made by Atmel Corporation, is in charge of controllingprocesses in the sauna 10 including, but not limited to, controlling thevalve 24 based on the information obtained from a temperature sensor(not shown) in the patient box 12.

During the session, a part 60 of the coolant vapors from the patient box12 via a recycle stream bypass channel 62 is supplied back to theevaporator 28 for the enrichment and reuse with the purpose of savingthe coolant. The intake of outside air to mix with the coolant is shownby arrow 63. The excessive vapors are removed from the sauna through anintake channel 64 connected via a first discharge duct 66 with adischarge three-way valve 68 located outside the gas generator 16.Forced ventilation created by a duct fan 70 sucks the excessive vaporout through the tree-way valve 68 and discharges it. After the sessionis over, all the vapors of the cooling agent are evacuated from the box12 into the atmosphere through a ventilation channel 72, a seconddischarge duct 74, and the three-way valve 68.

While the present invention has been described in connection with aspecific exemplary embodiment and implementation, it is not so limited,but rather covers various modifications and equivalent arrangements,which fall within the purview of prospective claims.

1. A cryosauna for recreational procedures, the cryosauna comprising: acooling agent source, a gas generator, and a patient box, the gasgenerator comprising an evaporator and a mixer, the evaporator and mixerbeing in fluid communication with each other, the evaporator beingconnected to the cooling agent source, the mixer being in fluidcommunication with ambient air and with the patient box, whereby anoperating mixture of the cooling agent and air can be prepared andsupplied to the patient box.
 2. The cryosauna according to claim 1,wherein the connection between the evaporator and the cooling agentsource is made via a controllable valve to thereby dose the supply ofthe cooling agent to the evaporator.
 3. The cryosauna according to claim1, wherein the patient box is made roofless and comprises a floor,walls, and a stage to accommodate the patient, the height of the stagerelative to the floor being adjustable.
 4. The cryosauna according toclaim 1, wherein the cooling agent is liquid nitrogen.
 5. The cryosaunaaccording to claim 1, wherein the cooling agent is liquid CO₂.
 6. Thecryosauna according to claim 1, wherein the cooling agent is liquid air.7. The cryosauna according to claim 1, wherein the evaporator and mixerare made thermo insulated.
 8. The cryosauna according to claim 1,wherein the mixer is made of a non-corrodible material.
 9. The cryosaunaaccording to claim 1, further comprising a fan facilitating the mixingof the cooling agent and air and the supply thereof to the patient box.10. The cryosauna according to claim 1, further comprising a recyclestream bypass channel connecting the patient box and evaporator tothereby reuse the operating mixture.
 11. The cryosauna according toclaim 1, further comprising a discharge valve, at least one dischargeduct connecting the patient box with an input of the discharge valve anda duct fan at an output of the discharge valve.
 12. The cryosaunaaccording to claim 11, further comprising a second discharge ductconnecting the patient box with an input of the discharge valve, thedischarge valve including a three-way valve.
 13. A cryosauna forrecreational procedures, the cryosauna comprising: a source of liquidnitrogen, a unit to prepare an operating mixture, and a patient box, theunit comprising thermo insulated evaporator and mixer in fluidcommunication with each other, the evaporator being controllablyconnected to the source of liquid nitrogen, the mixer being in fluidcommunication with ambient air and with the patient box, whereby theoperating mixture of liquid nitrogen and air can be prepared andsupplied to the patient box.
 14. The cryosauna according to claim 13,wherein the patient box is made roofless and comprises a floor, walls,and a stage to accommodate the patient, the height of the stage relativeto the floor being adjustable.
 15. The cryosauna according to claim 13,wherein the mixer is made of a non-corrodible material.
 16. Thecryosauna according to claim 13, further comprising a recycle streambypass channel connecting the patient box and evaporator to therebyreuse the operating mixture.
 17. The cryosauna according to claim 13,further comprising a three-way discharge valve, a first and a seconddischarge ducts connecting the patient box with inputs of the dischargevalve and a duct fan installed at an output of the discharge valve. 18.A method of operating a cryosauna during a session, the methodcomprising the steps of: providing a source of a cooling agent,directing the cooling agent to an evaporator, evaporating the coolingagent in the evaporator, mixing the evaporated cooling agent with air,and directing the mixture of the evaporated cooling agent and air into apatient box of the cryosauna.
 19. The method of operating a cryosaunaaccording to claim 18, further comprising drawing an excessive mixtureof the evaporated cooling agent and air out of the patient box anddirecting it back to the evaporator for reuse.
 20. The method ofoperating a cryosauna according to claim 18, further comprising drawingthe mixture of the evaporated cooling agent and air out of the patientbox after the session is over and removing the mixture from thecryosauna.